The modern medical world has drastically changed the way perceive the potential of our lives as a whole. As women, we have been able to put off child rearing until later. Prescreening for many cancers has allowed us to catch certain cancers before they take hold and end our lives earlier than we had hoped. The miracle of blood transfusions saves countless lives daily. Miracles in medicine happen every day. That is the good news. The bad news is that because so much can be done to save our lives, sometimes we are left to figure out when it is time to let go and allow death to happen. While determining the point of death is not a new problem, determining when we have done what we can to save a life is a modern problem.

It comes down to how we understand life. When has a body suffered so much, that it is time to allow the person to go? Is it living to spend years on machines without a possibility to wake up and resume a full life again? What makes up a full life? We need to grapple with what life means for you and have that conversation with those closest to you. One day you might find yourself in a position where you can no longer make medical choices for yourself. Make sure you have chosen your medical power of attorney. Medical power of attorney is also known as: health care proxy, durable power of attorney for health care. For us in the modern world, we must be able to speak freely with those closest to us about these tough topics. We need to be able to talk about what we believe makes a full and livable life and what does not. I love life. I desire to live as long as possible, but I have also lived enough to know that medical emergencies happen and spouses or children are left with though choices. As we need to talk about death, we must talk about life. When we know what life is, we can better handle the end of life issues that we all must face at one time or another.

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Caroline Vuyadinov

I graduated from St. Vladamir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York with a Master of Divinity. I trained as a chaplain following graduation and worked with a wide variety of people.

When I moved to Canada, I began work in a women's halfway house in Hamilton, Ontario which worked with women in conflict with the law on a federal level. I became the program manager and loved working alongside the women, creating their plans for their reintegration back to the community. I also worked as a liaison with the parole board, parole officers and other community service providers.

Upon my return to the United States, I worked in the Death Care Industry as a Family Service Counselor, which lead me to become a green burial advocate. I co-founded Midwest Green Burial Society with Juliann Salinas. I speak to community groups and have developed practical seminars for a variety of audiences. I have been interviewed on a national podcast and was featured on a WGN spot dealing with green burial.